Unlike other times when Government has hurriedly rubbished surveys touting the administration as corrupt, it has this time around welcomed the latest corruption perception index report, which suggests the country has slightly improved in its fight against corruption.
They Corruption Perception Index (CPI) by anti-graft body, Transparency International, ranked Ghana 56th out of 168 countries in the world with a score of 47.
The figure shows a slight improvement in the fight against corruption in the sub-region as against figures from previous year.
It further ranked Ghana as the 7th country in Africa to have inched up in the fight against corruption.
[contextly_sidebar id=”qUNXam3QpNiF0jha9kOvQTXozL4YG9cY”]According to a statement from the local chapter of Transparency International, Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), “The CPI 2015 scored Ghana 47 out of clean score of 100 and ranked the country 56 out of 168 countries.”
Ghana scored below six African countries – Botswana – 63, Cape Verde – 55, Seychelles – 55, Rwanda – 54, Mauritius and Namibia which scored 53.
A statement signed by the Minister of Communications, Dr. Edward K. Omane Boamah, said although the performance is one point lower than that of 2014, it is gratifying that Ghana was ranked better in Africa.
Dr. Omane Boamah said the current ranking as against previous years show that government’s fight against corruption has yielded positive results.
“Given that this is a perception survey, it stands to reason that the views expressed by respondents were based on what they heard about the subject in the year under review. It also stands to reason therefore that the intense media focus on the allegations of corruption in the Judiciary as well as the repetition of some obviously false allegations against government in 2015 contributed to the perception,” the Minister added.
Dr. Omane Boamah said government is committed to fighting corruption assuring that they will ensure the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP).
“We are also mindful of the ‘paradox of exposure’- which creates a scenario where government’s efforts to expose and punish acts of wrongdoing such as the National Service Case, generates discussions among the populace creating a misleading impression of pervasive corruption when the opposite is in fact the case. We nonetheless commit and rededicate ourselves to the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan(NACAP).”
He said government will also continue to strengthen the relevant state institutions and work with Civil Society to win the war against corruption.
“We commend all stakeholders who have genuinely contributed to this enviable feat as proclaimed by Transparency International.”
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana